


Those left behind

by Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Missing Scene, Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26519146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen/pseuds/Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen
Summary: We saw the reactions of Team Arrow, Team Flash and the Legends to Oliver's death, but what about those we didn't see in Crisis? How did the people who loved Oliver react when they heard that he was gone? This story explores some of their reactions.
Relationships: Anatoli Knyazev & Oliver Queen, Oliver Queen & Slade Wilson, Oliver Queen & Thea Queen, Roy Harper & Oliver Queen
Comments: 10
Kudos: 49





	Those left behind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Phillipe363](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phillipe363/gifts), [Aragorn_II_Elessar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aragorn_II_Elessar/gifts), [Bl4ckHunter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bl4ckHunter/gifts).



> Something that’s been bouncing around my head for a while, just got around to doing it.
> 
> Italics are Chinese.

Russia

Night

In his bar, Anatoly Knyazev was nursing a glass of Russian vodka, lost in thought. Normally, the bar would be a lite with activity, but today was not an ordinary day.

His brother was dead. Even thinking the woods felt wrong to Anatoly. He had been sure Oliver would outlive them all out of pure stubbornness. He had been wrong.

Anatoly took a big gulp of vodka, hoping it would numb his feelings. It did not.

If he had known the last time Oliver had been in this bar would be the last time he would see his favorite American, there were many things he would have told him. The two of them had gone through so much together, going from strangers to brothers to enemies and brothers once more. It shattered Anatoly’s heart in ways that he could not explain to know that Oliver was well and truly gone now.

“You were a better man than me, my brother,” Anatoly said emotionally, raising his glass. “May you find peace, wherever you are now.”

Tibet

Same time

In another bar, Thea Queen wiped her eyes of tears, pushing the empty glasses of liquor away. She sat away from the rest of the patrons, who gave her a wide berth. Probably had something to do with how she nearly broke the arm of a guy who tried to come onto her.

On any other day, she would have felt ashamed of that. But today, she was just numb to everything. She’d lost her brother today.

She hadn’t needed to see the press conference to know Ollie was dead. She’d felt it. That feeling in her chest she’d had those five years he was gone, the one that told her that Ollie was still alive…it wasn’t there anymore. She hadn’t wanted to believe it when he had told her he was destined to die, had chosen to live in a bubble of denial instead. Well, that worked out great, Thea thought with a humorless laugh.

The other patrons were looking at her like she was crazy but she didn’t care. Her brother was dead. She thought she had felt broken when she found out what she did to Sara and when she realized what she did to Susan and almost did to Kullens. She was wrong, Thea thought as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

Star City

Same time

In yet another bar, Roy Harper threw some darts at a dart board, hitting the bullseye perfectly. But he felt no satisfaction. He just felt angry, angrier than he’d felt since he was cured of the Mirakuru. The other patrons eyed him wearily, either because of his robotic arm or because they knew who he was, Roy didn’t know. And quite honestly, Roy didn’t give a damn right now.

Oliver was dead. He’d known about The Monitor’s prophecy, but Oliver had always seemed larger than life, invincible. Oliver had defied death so many times, Roy was sure this was just another battle and Oliver would come walking through the doors once it was over.

Oliver had saved his life, given him purpose. Without Oliver, he’d probably be dead in a ditch somewhere by now, lost, aimless. Oliver had been the first person to make him see there was something in him worth saving. Thea may have been the one to see it, but Oliver had been the one to make him believe it. It was something he’d always known he couldn’t repay Oliver for that and now he’d never get the chance to try.

Roy picked up his glass of scotch and took a big drink. Lowering the drink from his lips, Roy remembered many drinks he and Oliver had shared after a long day. Something else that would never happen again.

Roy was who he was because of Oliver Queen. He just wished he could have thanked him for that while Oliver was still alive.

Hong Kong

Same time

The streets were ablaze with gunfire. The Yakuza were running for their lives, hopelessly outmatched. One of them gasped as they were cut down, leaving only one. He pulled out his sword, shakily pointing it towards the armored figure.

_“What do you want? We never did anything to you!”_ The Yakuza shouted shakily.

_“You survived,”_ Deathstroke said simply, his voice ice cold. _“Oliver Queen didn’t. He got the Anti-Monitor. You get me.”_

The man was no challenge. It was no difficult task to disarm him and end his life with a sword through his chest. Slade cleaned his blade before walking off, his thoughts drifting.

He had been tracking down a lead on Joe, who had been running since Argus had released him, when he heard the news. The kid was dead.

It didn’t seem possible; Oliver had reached out to him just a month earlier, letting him know about Joe. Bu Slade knew in his heart that it was true. He recalled the phone call and the way Oliver had spoken, like a man on borrowed time…somehow, Oliver had known he was going to die.

Slade did not respect or trust many people, but Oliver had not been most people. Oliver had been the closest thing to a brother he had. And he had responded by betraying him, Mirakuru or not. He would carry the things he had done under the Mirakuru’s influence to his grave.

He had never asked for Oliver’s forgiveness, well aware the things he did were beyond forgiveness, beyond redemption. The fact that Oliver had spared him and helped him find his son was already more mercy than he deserved.

Slade had failed Oliver three times. First when he had betrayed Oliver. Again when he had left his team and family at the mercy of Lian Yu, and for a final time when he had not been there to aid him in this Crisis. But he would ensure that Oliver did not die in vain. 

The world was still full of evil, of men like Fryers, Ivo and Chase. Like Oliver had struck fear in the hearts of criminals in Star City, Slade would strike fear into the hearts of criminals and tyrants all over the world.

Deathstroke was always a monster. But now he would be a monster for the right reasons. He would be the monster that monsters feared in order to honor Oliver’s sacrifice.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, of the people we saw grieving Oliver in Crisis, the only person whose grief felt genuine to me was Barry. Everyone else’s grief just fell flat to me because just about all of them have treated Oliver like crap for years. Even Sara hasn’t cared about Oliver in a long time. And of course we didn’t get to see Roy and Thea’s reaction to Oliver’s death in the finale, because why let the people Oliver was actually close to have a reaction, right?
> 
> Anyway, I decided to explore the reactions of the people who actually care about Oliver, not who just pretend to care.
> 
> As for Slade, since Titans has used him and we saw the DCEU Flash in Crisis, I just don’t buy the excuse that the Arrowverse isn’t allowed to use him anymore.


End file.
